So is it the guns this time...or not? It's so hard to tell what with all the different standards libs use for determining their level of outrage. If the perp had been a straight, white, conservative male this story would be at 8+ pages by now, lol.

(CNN) - The man suspected of killing eight people in Chicago-area shootings has died after turning a gun on himself following a confrontation with federal law enforcement, police said. Romeo Nance, 23, was found Monday by US Marshals near Natalia, Texas – more than 1,000 miles from where seven victims were found shot to death Sunday in two homes in the south Chicago suburb of Joliet, according to the Joliet Police Department. Authorities believe Nance is also linked to a Will County, Illinois, shooting that left a 28-year-old dead, Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said Monday.Nance shot himself with a handgun after being confronted by officials, police said.

States most dependent on the federal government
Lot's of threads on hating Illinois and california, not that they don't have issues. But, I'm guess their bills are paid if they are receiving federal funds like the red states.

How is it that Dalton, Red, Emmett, Stroudenmire, and Tilghman are able to enter Wesley's home, kill all the henchmen, and fire multiple shots at Wesley to kill him and walk away with no legal consequences?

Seems like a cut and dry home invasion and murder 1 charge if you ask me.

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we need pics of his mom’s best friend. until then, here’s one of his mom

“Raw,” World Wrestling Entertainment’s well-known weekly show that helped make John Cena and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin famous, will stream exclusively on Netflix next year, WWE announced on Tuesday. The partnership marks the first time the wrestling show won’t be aired on traditional television since it debuted in 1993.

Netflix will have exclusive streaming rights for “Raw” in the United States, Canada, Britain and Latin America starting next January and expand to additional areas over time, according to WWE and Netflix’s news release.

How do you think we’re doing? Take a short survey about the new Style.
WWE President Nick Khan said in a statement that Netflix is “the ideal long-term home” for the fan base of WWE’s most popular program. “Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” he added.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement that she is “thrilled” by the long-term partnership, which will cost more than $5 billion, according to a company filing.


“‘Raw’ is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year,” she said.

Florida says "hold my beer" in regard to the forced singing of the national anthem:

Florida Politics reports:

The House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee is advancing a bill that would give some groups certain rights in K-12 schools.
Rep. Wyman Duggan’s bill (HB 1317) would allow representatives of so-called “patriotic organizations” time to meet with students and distribute recruitment materials, with schools providing designated time for these groups to pitch their attendees.
The bill also clarifies that certain groups can use school buildings even after the instructional day is over, and stipulates that other groups don’t have the legal right to “equal time.”

Click to expand...

Read the full article. Duggan is a freshman.

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is in play for the oc gig ..


also as WR and QB coach experience

Yahoo sports is reporting it.

So many years ago, but if I remember correctly they were in central Iowa. I remember eating at them as a kid and really liked them. They might've been at the State Fair?.

Whatever happened to them?

Tertiary

I boycotted Pizza Hut about 25 years ago. Looks like I'm ahead of the curve on this one.


Pizza Hut is facing boycott calls after it supplied Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) with pizza.

The restaurant chain's Israeli Instagram account reposted a story of two IDF soldiers holding stacks of branded Pizza Hut boxes, and it has been widely shared online. Originally posted by a user with the handle @alex_shults, the two soldiers can be seen smiling and dressed in uniform. Newsweek has as yet been unable to verify where the image was taken and contacted Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut, for comment on Saturday via phone call.

Brands across the world have faced boycotts over supposed support of Israel as it strikes back in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attacks conducted by Hamas. Most notably, McDonald's and Starbucks have both been subject to the ire of pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Quds News Network, a Palestinian Youth News Agency, posted another image of a separate Instagram story on X, formerly Twitter, showing an Israeli soldier posing with a stack of pizza boxes. He has one arm resting on the boxes and another on a rifle in the image posted by an account with the name "Proud to help". Text in the image reads: "For the love of Israel." The Quds Network said the pizzas were free and delivered to Israel military bases. Newsweek is unable to verify the claim at this time.

The posts have caused significant backlash online from pro-Palestinian supporters who have vowed to stop purchasing food from the chain and have encouraged others to do so as well. Academic Tim Anderson posted on X: "OK folks, this is the form of @pizzahut feeding the genocidal regime, you know what to do."

At the time of writing, the hashtag #BoycottPizzaHut had more than 136,000 posts on the X site.

However, not everyone was in favor of the hashtag. Israel's supporters hit back at the proposed boycott. Eli Lake quoted the Quds Network post, writing: "Good for Pizza Hut."

Other X users took the posts more in jest. Uri Kurlianchik posted: "You don't understand! This is all a secret plan to make Israeli soldiers too fat to fight in Gaza! Pizza Hut is actually trying to help you!"

"Obviously people in support of Hamas are 'boycotting' PizzaHut for acting humanely," X user anitnelav wrote.

Starbucks issued a public statement in December, following vandalism at a number of its outlets in North America.

Without explicitly referencing the ongoing conflict, Starbucks CEO Laxman 'Laks' Narasimhan said in a letter: "Cities around the world - including here in North America - have seen escalating protests. Many of our stores have experienced incidents of vandalism. We see protestors influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for."

Narasimhan added: "Our stance is clear. We stand for humanity."

Like it or not, electric vehicles are the future. The push to use them is all over the news, social media, and people can’t stop talking about them. The government is even offering people tax credits on them.

It’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into if you’re considering buying an electric vehicle (EV). With big promises of greener transportation and lower costs, it’s easy to walk in blind. So here are 13 things EV owners need to talk about that we all should know.

Range Anxiety Is Real
Your average gas-powered car can drive 300-720 miles on one full gas tank. Your average EV range is significantly lower than this. Combining the low range of an EV with the fact that charging infrastructure is considerably lacking, it’s reasonable to worry. Imagine having half a gas tank, only two gas stations within a several-mile radius, and then crossing your fingers that the gas pumps work. I’d be panicking, too.

Charging Time Is So Long
I have two kids, and they panic when I stop to fill up with gas, and that only takes around 8 minutes, max. I can’t imagine having to take 30 minutes to recharge an EV every time I need a charge. Who has 30 minutes to dedicate to that in the middle of their day? Not me, that’s for sure.

EVs Cost More Than Gas-Powered Cars
The average new car costs $48,000 in 2023, while the average EV costs $60,000. That extra $12,000 over 60 months of financing is an additional $200, not considering the increase in interest or insurance costs. Yes, there are tax credit options, but also higher maintenance costs, insurance costs, and more.

There’s Just Not That Many EV Options Yet
As of March 2023, there were only 40 EV models available on the market in the U.S. Considering there are 232,759,000 licensed drivers in the U.S., it’s safe to say that there are not nearly enough EV options for people to choose from. Automakers are announcing new cars every day, but I suspect that it will be several years before we have a variety of EVs to choose from.

Home Charging Installation Is Expensive
Yes, owning an EV is more convenient if you have a home charger in your garage. But have you ever stopped to think about how much hassle it would be to actually have someone install one in your home? According to Fixr, getting a home charger installed can set you back anywhere from $1,000-2,500. That’s definitely more than I thought. That would take me several months to ever spend that much on gas.

EV Resale Value Is Poor
Everyone knows that new cars lose value as soon as they roll off the lot. But what people may not realize is that EVs lose way more value when they drive off. In fact, EVs lose 52% of their worth after three years, while others lose only 39%. This means that if you ever want to resell your EV, you may not get very much for it.

EVs Don’t Like Finicky Weather
If you live in a piping hot state like Texas, an EV may not be for you. When EVs sit in extremely high or low temperatures, they’re not happy about it. Too hot or too cold can reduce battery range by up to 31%. That means your car’s 300-mile range is now 200 miles.

You’ll Be Hard-Pressed To Find a Used EV
As I mentioned earlier, the resale value of EVs is not that great if you’re the seller. If you’re the buyer, it doesn’t look much better for you. Since EVs are so new, very few are on the second-hand market. This makes it hard to get a bargain on an EV. If you need a cash car, assume you’ll get a gas-powered vehicle.

High Maintenance and Repair Costs
EVs may require less maintenance than gas-powered cars, but when they need a repair, you can bank on paying a lot more than a standard car’s repair. That’s because EV parts are more expensive and harder to find, and there are very few mechanics that know how to work on EVs.

Public Charging Infrastructure Has a Ways To Go
The Secretary of Energy recently went on a road trip in an EV across the U.S. to show the white house’s support of EVs. She found that not only are charging stations far and few between, but the charging ports at the few existing stations are faulty or broken. The Biden administration approved $100 million in funding to fix public charging ports, so we hope to see some improvement in the future.

EV Batteries Are Very Costly and Complicated To Replace
My husband has had to replace several batteries in his Dodge Dart over the years, and the replacement process includes stopping by Auto Zone and picking up a new one for around $75. It’s not fun, but it’s not a big dent in our pockets. If your EV battery degrades, replacement can be challenging. You can expect to pay anywhere from $4,000-20,000 to replace an EV battery. And for us, that would be more than just a quick stop at the auto parts store.

EVs Aren’t All That Environmentally Friendly
One of the most significant advantages of an EV is that they are safer for the environment. But is this true? If you look at the facts, EVs are not zero-emission. They may have zero tailpipe emissions, but they are certainly not pollution-free.
EV batteries require mining materials like lithium and cobalt, which harm the environment. EV batteries are also complicated to recycle and dispose of, and new studies show that EV tires produce 20% more pollution than gas-car tires. None of this screams “save the environment” to me.

I’m grateful that Michigan State boards have clear boundaries about such things. We could use some firm and rigid guidance from our mods - otherwise, things are just gonna explode in our faces.

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We've all heard the stories, but wow. Also if this has already been posted, that's my bad.

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Jumble Daily & Crossword
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Obituaries

Melanie, singer-songwriter of ‘Brand New Key’ and other ‘70s hits, dies at 76​

By Andrew Dalton
Associated Press
•
Published: Jan 25, 2024 at 10:09 am




The singer-songwriter Melanie plays the Day in the Garden concert in Woodstock, N.Y., on Aug. 15, 1998. (SUZANNE DECHILLO/Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times)


Melanie, the singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene, performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits including the enduring cultural phenomenon “Brand New Key,” has died.

Her publicist Billy James told The Associated Press that Melanie died Tuesday. She was 76 and lived in central Tennessee. The cause was not immediately revealed.



“Our world is much dimmer, the colors of a dreary, rainy Tennessee pale with her absence today,” her children Leilah, Jeordie and Beau Jarred, said in a post on her Facebook page announcing her death.

With a voice that could shift from high-pitched and coy to a deep soulful rasp, Melanie wrote and sang hits including “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).”

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Republican governors across the US have revolted against Biden by backing Texas in an escalating conflict over immigration, with a new map showing the states that have turned red.

The officials have voiced their support for Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is embroiled in an ongoing dispute with Biden on how to best control the influx of migrants that are crossing his state’s border daily.

Abbott instructed state troopers to install a long stretch of concertina razor wire along the Rio Grande River, near the border city of Eagle Pass.

The move has been slammed by the Biden administration, who said that it could harm migrants who are trying to cross.

They also said it could slow down Border Patrol agents from being able to easily access migrants once they enter the US.

The Biden administration has fought back against the installation of the wire, asking the Supreme Court to allow Border Patrol agents to cut down the razor wire installed on the US-Mexico border.

The Supreme Court ruled in the US government’s favour on Monday, but Abbott has retaliated by installing even more wire, encouraging civilians to install it on their private property, with the Texas governor saying the state had a “right to self-defence”.

“Americans expect the border to be secured. Because Joe Biden has abandoned that responsibility, Texas is stepping up,” he told Fox News today.

In a statement released today, the Republican governor said: “I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.”

Abbott’s declaration prompted the governors of Florida, Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Virginia to publicly support him, with a new map released by Right Angle News Network showing the states on the side of Texas.

Florida Governor pledged his allegiance to Texas during the crisis. He said: “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did.

“TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it. FL will keep assisting Texas with personnel and assets.”

Meanwhile, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem also promised to give assistance, stating that Texas had a right to defend itself.

“[Abbott] is exactly right to invoke Texas’ constitutional authority to defend itself. The Biden Administration has created a national security crisis and put Americans in danger. Their failure is an unconstitutional dereliction of duty,” she wrote on social media

Elsewhere, Georgia governor Brian Kemp said that Abbott has his “full support”.

“Enough is enough. Our southern border is in crisis thanks to the Biden administration's refusal to do their job,” he wrote on social media.

Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, and Montana governor Greg Gianforte also all voiced their support online.

I loved that she talked about NIL, Portal, athletic benefits for athletes, but you know where two of our men's head coaches stand relative to these changes. I don't ever see KF or Fran "running to or embracing" change. I don't expect anything immediate but, as she gains her footing and respect not only at Iowa but around the B1G, these guys, especially KF, are going to be on the outside looking in. I for one completely endorse support her change management strategy.

But not as much as this lady. I just can’t watch this and not laugh.

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